Down to the Quick
by ARPfics
Summary: Guess what? Puck's not the baby's daddy either.


I snuggled closer to Puck, the uncomfortable wooden arm of the waiting room chair digging into my growing stomach. I moved over a bit more, but it didn't help. "You OK, baby?" He looked at me softly, raising his sunglasses to show his concern.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I smiled softly, but of course the baby had perfect timing and gave me a huge kick in the gut. I shuttered, which caused Puck to sit up and lean over me protectively. "Don't worry. The baby kicked."

"You sure?" He smirked at me and rubbed his mohawk nervously. "I worry about her, you know?"

"Yeah." I took hold of his arm, the soft leather of his jacket somehow smoothing my nerves. "These tests always make me nervous."

He looked up towards the door that lead back to the patient rooms and I followed his gaze. "Don't worry, baby. They said there's probably nothing wrong with the baby."

I sighed, my gaze turning to the reception desk, where the secretary was writing up something; probably the bill. Thank god Puck always seemed to find some way to pay for these things. Now that I was living at Brittany's, I couldn't afford much of anything, but I still wanted the best for my baby. Puck seemed to agree, digging out the necessary funds. "Thank you for everything, Puck." I looked up at him, my eyes softening.

"What? For coming with you? I didn't think Brittany would be very good company." He just shrugged nonchalantly.

I laughed lightly because he was probably right. Brittany was a great friend if you wanted a good laugh, but not for much beyond that. I don't think I would have ever looked at Puck twice before this mess, but he's actually not such a bad guy. He might have a bad attitude, but he really wanted to make up for what his delinquent dad did to him. This relationship could be the best thing for both of us. "I don't know," I finally shrugged. "I just don't think anyone else really cares about me anymore."

"No-" He opened his mouth, probably to give me some speech about how much the glee club cared about all of their members, but door to the doctor's office slammed open.

"Quinn Febray?" The nurse called, looking around the empty waiting room. I stood up quickly and Puck followed closely behind me. The nurse looked at Puck wearily. "The doctor would like to speak to her alone."

"Why?" Puck was shocked and he stood his ground. "Is there something wrong with the baby?"

"I am not at liberty to discuss patient information, but this office does have a strict policy regarding minors. Since you are not related to Ms. Febray, you are not allowed to be in the room."

"But he was allowed in the room before," I raised an eyebrow curiously.

"Yes, that was the intern's fault." She gave a dirty look back into the reception room. "Anyway, stop arguing and just get in there." She shook her head at us.

I sighed, my stomach shaking as I made my way through the labyrinth leading to the doctor's private office. The young Asian doctor smiled softly at me as I entered. "Take a seat, Quinn."

"What's going on? It's never taken so long to get the test results before."

"As you know, we were running more intricate tests this time. We all want to make sure everything is alright with the baby."

"Well," I sucked in a breath anxiously. "Is she alright?" I laid a protective hand on my stomach. Why was everything so different so time? Finn had been able to stay with me during my first sonogram and last time, Mercedes had hung out with me.

"Yes, she's fine," he smiled softly, trying to reassure me, but there was something off in his eyes. "But... Noah Puckerman isn't the father."

"What?" It took me a moment to even process what he was saying. "Wait. What? How do you even know?"

"When we took a urine sample from him to rule out genetic diseases on his side, we ran a DNA test. It's standard practice. His DNA doesn't match the baby's."

I thought about this for a long minute. "That's not possible. My ex-boyfriend came in the hot tub, but I can't get pregnant from that, can I?"

The doctor shook his head slowly. "Definitely not. Was there anybody else you... messed around with?"

My head was spinning. "I was the president of the celibacy club for crying out loud. I never 'messed around' with anyone, so no..." my smirk slowly faded, as I remembered one night this past summer. My good friend and I had been messing around, seeing what we could do. Neither of us meant for it to go so far... I wouldn't even consider it sex, but he did come inside of me. I breathed, "...oh."

The doctor nodded knowingly, a sick smile playing on his face. "That'll do it to you."

"But-" I thought about that awkward night. It was such an innocent thing... he didn't even know if it would be possible. We had both been so curious and we'd ended up slowly rounding the bases towards home. Afterwards, we'd both been shocked at what we'd done. I made him swear never to speak about it again... Of course that was back in the days when we pretended not to know each other in school. I was on top of the social ladder at school and he'd been in the sub-basement. The whole thing was so weird, because I hadn't had the romantic feelings I'd always associated with being intimate. We were just two good friends pushing the limits... and this was the result.

The doctor went on to lecture me about talking to the father, to see if there were any diseases I should know about. I already knew there was nothing... nothing genetic anyway. I thought about his one flaw, the one thing that made him so unpopular, that had made me so curious. We all loved him despite the wheelchair... or maybe because of it, but could he handle being a father? He was so innocent and overprotected. It wasn't his fault, but I wasn't sure he was capable of handling a baby. He wouldn't even be able to pay for these tests like Puck could, if only because his parents were so overbearing. No job until he was 18, he always complained.

I headed back down the hall towards Puck, my head spinning. I wondered if the other boy knew it was his baby. I saw the longing looks he sent my way, especially when we were performing, but maybe it was just a crush. Suddenly, the memory of his face when he'd chosen me to sing a ballad with reappeared. He'd been way too excited... Thank god I'd wiggled my way out of actually practicing with him.

Puck stood up as I entered the waiting room and came towards me, a nervous smile on his face. "Is everything OK?" He asked, his eyes soft.

"Yeah," I shook my head. "He just wanted to lecture me. Like I don't know the facts of nature by now." I laughed softly, my smile hiding the truth. Puck put his arm around me protectively and I knew I would never tell anyone the baby belonged to Artie Abrams.

* * *

**A/N: Don't shoot me for this! *ducks***


End file.
